Lemon Lime Monaco Pie
When I was around the age of 10, I remember frequently visiting a Chinese restaurant called Red Coral. Situated on MG Road, the eatery was on in the midway point between Gurgaon and New Delhi. Back in 2005 (when I was 10 years old), this was probably one of the only good Asian food places in the vicinity of my city. I used to love this place. The restaurant was huge with ample seating, this big water structure of a green laughing buddha atop which you could see little chef hats bobbing up and down through a glass wall that bifurcated the kitchen and the rest of the space. There was one wall that was just all window and even though it was tinted, you could see a lush green forest of sorts outside since the overlooking view was of a prominent army base.
Even though it would take my tiny family of three-thirty minutes to get there, we went almost every other week. There was something about the place that really resonated with us. We’ve celebrated birthdays and anniversaries — almost a treasured venue for celebrating happy memories. Even though I wasn’t as fascinated by food then as I am now, I remember learning about recipes through conversations. I once went with my aunt and uncle (who I lovingly call Bo and Fuji). Fuji ordered a dish called the American Chop Suey. Different people on the table were both happy and disappointed by his decision. Having never heard of it, I was very excited to see what it is. My Fuji told me the origin of the dish— a dish made by miners in the early 1900s by Chinese Immigrants in the United States, Chop Suey was an amalgamation of ingredients that miners found in their pantries all cooked up on high heat on a wok.
While I really didn’t like Red Coral’s version of a Chop Suey, I found this concept fascinating— food that comes out of repurposing what is available. Through history, this concept has been very common. From a personal history front, both my hangover eggs and chai-spiced chicken comes from this concept. But if we zoom away from my self-obsession to self-promote, there are plenty of meals that come from this concept. Icebox cakes are one such concept. In the 1930s, America was going through a boom in packaged meals and snacks. Nabisco (the makers of the Oreo cookie) made concerted efforts to find ways to incorporate their wafers and cookies into a daily meal. A great way to do that was by making desserts out of them and calling them “cakes” and “pies.” This movement became so popular that it actually resulted in decades of icebox cake culture. This Lemon Lime Monaco Pie is a nod to this tradition. An inspiration from a classic key lime pie, it uses cream and condensed milk to make a “faux” custard and Monaco Biscuits as the cake or as I would like to call it— the salty vehicle of flavour!
I hope you enjoy this recipe and make it as many times as all of you have been making the coffee pudding (read: I hope this goes more viral than Natasha’s recipe)!
Glimpses from the week
Recipe
Ingredients
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
250 ml of fresh cream
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest, plus more for serving
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 4 limes)
200 grams Monaco Biscuits [Ritz crackers / Saltines] (2 big sleeves)
Method
Start by zesting and juicing 4 limes
Mix all of the ingredients other than the cookies to make a faux custard filling
In an 8-inch glass pan begin by smearing a little bit of the filling. Add one layer of the biscuits followed by a layer of the filling. Alternate until you reach the top. I made three layers. Cover with a cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours but I suggest overnight. The longer you wait, the more the biscuits will soften and meld with the filling.
Serve as is or with some whipped cream and lemon zest
